Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => Plumbing => Topic started by: mlappin on November 15, 2015, 10:29:47 PM
-
Snapped a few pics, all I’ll say is next time I’ll get some Logstor couplers and tubing and extend my lines, what I had to work with was what I had from the hookup on my old stove. A foot or less of that stuff is not easy to move around, a hair dryer does work wonders though.
Running a Taco Delta T for the house loop so added the third pump to insure proper flow thru the stove when the Delta T is running on low.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t167/Marty_Lappin/HeatmasterSS/IMG_1446_zpshtc2exm4.jpg)
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t167/Marty_Lappin/HeatmasterSS/IMG_1445_zpsnkggur2p.jpg)
-
I should add the shop is lower that the boiler, I already had to fix a few seeps because of the stupid putty. Drained a few gallons out of the shop line in the shop and a few out in the basement and didn’t lose any unhooking lines. Well that and I thought I had two extra isolation flanges around, about the time I started in on this late Friday night I remembered I had already used them elsewhere and wasn’t about to wait till the middle of the next week to get more.
-
i like the temp gauges.....i was thinking about adding a few....do they cut down on flow have the well immersed?
-
I like the heater hose! It works great for that final connection and flexibility!
-
why the two pumps ran in sequence on the one set of lines???? long run???
-
why the two pumps ran in sequence on the one set of lines???? long run???
The Bell and Gosset pump is to insure proper flow in the stove if the Delta T pump should be running on low for an extended time. Both my runs are around 118’ so no need for a booster pump.
The thermostat just have a 1/4” stem on them that’s in the water flow so very little restriction if any.
The 1” heater hose would have been nice, but just another one of those things that seem rare as hens teeth around here, my local place I deal with could have got it for me if I ordered a full roll. Not to worried about anything shifting though, the Logstor has been in the ground for over a year and the pad has been there for 15, everything should be done settling by now.
-
My install was new last year, including the pad. I hard plumbed in from my logstor to the boiler with unions and valves, both shut off and boiler valves. Did not think about my pad moving in the hard winter last year, I went out to fill boiler for the night and found it at 260 with no water in it. I keep my backhoe parked next to it, so I pulled the coals out and put them in the bucket to get the stove cooled down. The raising of the pad pulled the fitting off the logstor. I put a longer piece of pipe in each line to get through the winter, and installed heater hose this spring to give me the flex I need. I found a large selection at McMaster- Carr. They are usually pricey, but have everything in stock and you get it the next day.
-
1" heater hose? That's brilliant! I've got 1" PEX connected to my Logstor via sharkbites threaded into the Logstor fittings I bought and occasionally the sharkbites leak from the stiff curve the PEX has to make to connect to things. Maybe I should replace those sections with heater hose and be done with it?
-
Nothing like laying on your side in -18 degree weather to figure out a fix so you don't ever have to do that again. They have hose that will take some pretty high heat, as well as stainless braided assemblies that thread onto pipe thread.
-
How did you fabricate the flexible heater hose section mlappin?
In particular, what are those bands holding the hose to the fitting?
Also, what is the male threaded to flexible hose fitting (adapter?) called?
I want to fabricate a couple small hoses in a very similar fashion (connecting to 1-inch copper on my boiler).
Thank you Marty. :thumbup:
-
How did you fabricate the flexible heater hose section mlappin?
In particular, what are those bands holding the hose to the fitting?
Also, what is the male threaded to flexible hose fitting (adapter?) called?
I want to fabricate a couple small hoses in a very similar fashion (connecting to 1-inch copper on my boiler).
Thank you Marty. :thumbup:
I take it your referring to the orange section of tube?
Thats actually just standard pex, the bands are crimps, Lowes or Menards carries em.
-
My install was new last year, including the pad. I hard plumbed in from my logstor to the boiler with unions and valves, both shut off and boiler valves. Did not think about my pad moving in the hard winter last year, I went out to fill boiler for the night and found it at 260 with no water in it. I keep my backhoe parked next to it, so I pulled the coals out and put them in the bucket to get the stove cooled down. The raising of the pad pulled the fitting off the logstor. I put a longer piece of pipe in each line to get through the winter, and installed heater hose this spring to give me the flex I need. I found a large selection at McMaster- Carr. They are usually pricey, but have everything in stock and you get it the next day.
Was pretty frigid here as well last winter but never had a problem with connections coming apart.
Hydraulic return hose would also work well, high heat rating with a 350PSI pressure ratings and not near as stiff as regular hydraulic hose.
-
This stuff looks to be the right hose to use. Finding barbed fittings should be easy too.
McMaster Carr part:
-
Not so sure about that, doesn’t give a pressure rating and says for use with gravity flow of liquids.
-
My Heatmor is a non-pressurized system, and I think most wood boilers are, or at least very low pressures. It's a semi-rigid pipe. I'm not sure what the gravity flow of liquids means, but I bet it'll work perfectly for the intended purpose.
-
I was referring to the fact your pump will build some pressure forcing the water thru the system and back into the stove.
Gravity flow of liquids means exactly that, it’s to be used as a supply hose.
-
Oh well. Good old fashioned automotive radiator hose should work just as well too. It's made for low pressure cooling systems, can take the heat, and it's cheap and readily available.
-
The hose I used is McMaster- Carr number 5591k15. High temp silicone coolant hose. Rated for 170 psi -65 to 350 degrees. I used barb style fittings and crimp style clamps, seems to be working great so far.
-
The hose I used is McMaster- Carr number 5591k15. High temp silicone coolant hose. Rated for 170 psi -65 to 350 degrees. I used barb style fittings and crimp style clamps, seems to be working great so far.
Nice.
Got looking around the farm, must be a regional/soil type thing on the heaving.
Our BIG gas meter/regulator for the corn dryer sits on a small concrete pad and the gas company left no provisions for heaving, lots of flow there with a 2” line coming in.
Two of the 10hp fans have add on heaters and again no provisions for heaving, the ones been there for over 30 years.
-
I believe you are right about the heaving. Our frost has been down over 6 feet here the last few winters and I noticed there are two slight banks by my driveway that look like drop offs in the early spring, I believe from me plowing the driveway and driving the frost down, the drive lifts. I have never seen anything like this before moving here. My pad lifted and slanted about 6 inches, returned to level in the spring.
-
Must be the soils or something, once over 30 years ago Dad had problems with alfalfa heaving out of the soil, come spring the crowns of the plants were a foot above the ground and it’s never happened since.
Even our grain bins are on monolithic pads with a footer only a foot or 18” deep.
I poured the new sidewalk with pex in it about 15 years ago and still not a crack in it.
-
I went to NAPA and bought some 1" heater hose. It's rated at 250ºF and 45 PSI. :thumbup:
My 1" PEX with sharkbites was leaking at 3 of the 4 sharkbites after I shut down the boiler for a few days (65º+ outside), so I went ahead and took care of the problem. I also switched from my Taco 007 stainless circulator to my Grundfos 26-99 on low.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/juddspaintballs/Boiler%20stuff/20151215_133327_zpscilisrwk.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/juddspaintballs/Boiler%20stuff/20151215_133339_zpszr6iqugy.jpg)
-
Looks good!
-
Solid-looking job Judds. :thumbup:
-
I went to NAPA and bought some 1" heater hose. It's rated at 250ºF and 45 PSI. :thumbup:
My 1" PEX with sharkbites was leaking at 3 of the 4 sharkbites after I shut down the boiler for a few days (65º+ outside), so I went ahead and took care of the problem. I also switched from my Taco 007 stainless circulator to my Grundfos 26-99 on low.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/juddspaintballs/Boiler%20stuff/20151215_133327_zpscilisrwk.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/juddspaintballs/Boiler%20stuff/20151215_133339_zpszr6iqugy.jpg)
:post:
Did the farm show in Indy the last couple of days and handed out a lot of business cards and got to thinking about this last night in the no tell motel and on mine if the I would have set my pumps up on opposite sides and IF I had enough Logstor I could have hooked the one that comes up on the right in the phot to the pumps on the left and vice versa it would take care of any potential movement by having the extra pex in a nice long loop from vertical to horizontal. Might not always be possible but would work on a 400 with all the extra room to work.
-
I think the 1" heater hose sounds safer to me and it is usually braided as well as having higher temp ratings. I am going to see how my pex retracts in the spring when I shut down the boiler. If there is stress on my connections I will be putting in some heater hose to remedy it.
Last year I lost my antifreeze out of my old boiler when my generic shark bites leaked after shutting it down. Replaced them all with pex crimp fittings but still have the expansion/contraction of the pex issues so we will see at the end of the season if I need to add heater hose.
-
next spring im putting all 3/4 copper pipe in where the pipe comes into the garage and starts its house loop....i hate how the pex looks, sagging when its hot and just not very pleasing to the eye. will cost me about $300 in copper pipe and fittings to do it all right but it will be worth it when its done i think.
-
Copper in the house sure is purdy. I'll probably at least switch over to pex crimp fittings rather than Sharkbites inside the house because they are prone to leaking with large diameter PEX after it cools again.
-
only sharkbite fittings i have are on my plate exchanger and also my line temp gauges are sharkbite, been running with them for a few years and so far no issues when the lines cool. i always check them but so far so good
-
I took my copper out of basement and replaced it with pex and used pipe straps to hang it ! Doesn't look all that bad! I thought I was having flow restrictions but it didn't make a difference what a waste of money! This year I switched my 40 plate heat exchanger for a 100 plate and see no difference! I guess the only thing left is a bigger pump!!
-
I took my copper out of basement and replaced it with pex and used pipe straps to hang it ! Doesn't look all that bad! I thought I was having flow restrictions but it didn't make a difference what a waste of money! This year I switched my 40 plate heat exchanger for a 100 plate and see no difference! I guess the only thing left is a bigger pump!!
What size copper did you take out and what was the size of the pex you installed? Takes 1 1/4” standard pex to equal one inch copper.
-
Hey fireboss, don't know how long your run is to the house from the boiler but it may be that you are at your max gpm. Have you done a flow test to see where you are at? Point is, depending on length of piping, pipe size and load configuration the pump size may not increase your flow rate.
When I changed out my P&M to my Heatmaster G400 I did flow tests on both of my lines (shed and house).I did flow tests last year on the P&M also so I could compare my changes. With suggestions from slimjim (using monoflow tees and increased primary loop size inside the house to 1 1/4" pex) I changed out my lines (in the house) from a series setup to a primary/secondary loop setup and even added a third load and it is working great. I increased my flow from 6.8 gpm last year to 9.4 gpm this year with the same pump. I also replaced about 50 feet of 1" pex in my shed with 1 1/4" and increased my flow there about 1 gpm but I only have one load there. All my buried pex I left as is since I wasn't going to dig it all up. About 95 feet buried to the house and about 150 feet buried to the shed. Typically on 1" pex, from what I have found on distances like this you are looking at around 8 gpm for an average flow rate.
-
Iam only 14' away from my house and a nother 10' in the basement I used the 25' on the therm pex the came with boiler when I got it , and got the 10' uninsulated pex from them and put pipe rap around it in basement! my chief complaint is when the temps got down to close to zero , my boiler is at 195 - 185 and my hot water base board is 165 to 170 ! And my house is 65 to 68. Witch we could live with, but when its like 15 above the house can get up to 74 i have a big enough stove to handle the load just cant get it across my now 100 plate exchanger! My temp on my oil burner only still only gets to 170! When I switch to oil its goes up to 180!
-
Iam only 14' away from my house and a nother 10' in the basement I used the 25' on the therm pex the came with boiler when I got it , and got the 10' uninsulated pex from them and put pipe rap around it in basement! my chief complaint is when the temps got down to close to zero , my boiler is at 195 - 185 and my hot water base board is 165 to 170 ! And my house is 65 to 68. Witch we could live with, but when its like 15 above the house can get up to 74 i have a big enough stove to handle the load just cant get it across my now 100 plate exchanger! My temp on my oil burner only still only gets to 170! When I switch to oil its goes up to 180!
So you are running from the boiler through 35' of 1" pex, then through a 100 plate HX then back through 35' of pex to the OWB? What size pump are you using?
-
When the temps are close to zero and you're using your oil boiler, can you get your house up to 74 degrees?
-
Yes oil burner gets the house up to 74 no problem! Iam running taco oo7 iam guessing it's to small ? It's the only thing left lol! Iam only loosing like five degrees on and average day!
-
That would be my somewhat educated guess although with only 35 foot of run you’d think a 007 would be enough, but Thermopex is more like 7/8’s ID correct?
I ran the 1 1/4” pex in my shop but am using small pumps, was much cheaper to buy large line and small pumps than the other way around.
-
With such a short run you could gain some flow with a larger pump but the velocity will get pretty high. You should be around 8gpm right now but that is assuming only 70-80' of 1" pex in the loop. If you have any pex elbows or a lot of other fittings it will drop off from that fast.
If you try a larger pump, I would go with a Grundfos 26-99 and put in series with the 007. Then wire it to only come with the thermostat in the house. Also put a manual switch on it so you can turn it off when the house is heating ok with just the 007.
-
With such a short run you could gain some flow with a larger pump but the velocity will get pretty high. You should be around 8gpm right now but that is assuming only 70-80' of 1" pex in the loop. If you have any pex elbows or a lot of other fittings it will drop off from that fast.
If you try a larger pump, I would go with a Grundfos 26-99 and put in series with the 007. Then wire it to only come with the thermostat in the house. Also put a manual switch on it so you can turn it off when the house is heating ok with just the 007.
Would a Delta T work in this situation? With a call for heat it should ramp up and supply more water as the Delta T widens?
A two speed pump with high only kicking in with a call for heat would be ideal here.
-
I don't have any fittings ! That's why I got rid of the copper I had 90's and 45s all over the place! Now with the pex its a straight shot ! I Realy think its only 60' round trip with 3 feet head! What about putting another oo7 in series? I have my spare to put in and I have one for the pool that I don't use in the winter!
-
You would gain a little with another 007 but not a lot. The head pressure is just really low on them.
-
I keep the pump running 24\7, and I also have a 007 on the oil burner side of the exchanger that runs 24\7 ,and then when zone valve opens, I have another 007 that comes on and sends it up stair's! I just don't under stand why I can't get the 180 -185 in the house, when my 6048 is @ 195 with no load! Even when it's 60 out and iam sorry I hijacked this post I just realized it, again iam sorry!
-
Have you actually measured the water temps coming out of your boiler and then again at the entrance to the building?
-
No slim, but I have a temp gauge on my return and its only loosing 5 to 8 and it Idol's most of the day when it warm out ! I don't use much wood!
-
You only exchanging 5-8 degrees from the inlet side of the FPHE to the outlet of the FPHE on the OWB side? What is the in/out temps on the indoor boiler side of the FPHE? Slow flow caused by a small pump on the OWB side would cause excessive drop in temperature across the FPHE, not a small drop in temperature returning to the owb. Any chance that you don't have the OWB line and the Indoor boiler line flowing in opposite directions through the FPHE? How is the FPHE plumbed into the indoor boiler side of the heating system?
-
Darn good post honda!
-
Yes the exchanger is flowing in the opposite directions and i have a 007 flowing into the boiler drain and out the relife valve and back to the exchanger and its flowing 24\7 and in the summer I have it tied in to my aquastat ! I went from a 40 plate to a hundred plate and didn't gain anything! The only thing left is a bigger pump! I don't have a problem till it gets down close to 0 !
-
Thanks Richard
Fireboss, could you measure your temps on the indoor boiler side for us? I think that the problem may be the fact that you are using the boiler drain and relief valve as the locations for the tie in. What size is that, 1 inch or 3/4 inch? You aren't allowing the flow on the indoor boiler side to exchange the BTU's because of the slow flow through that restriction possibly. You aren't having a problem at higher outdoor temps because you don't need the extra btus to keep up, but when the temp drops outside and you need them you obviously are just exceeding the amount of BTU's being exchanged over.
-
my question would be how many gallons of reserve does the indoor boiler have? I am going to guess there is not enough reserve water to hold the btu's needed for an extended run time(cold day) of the indoor boiler.
I am also going to guess the indoor boiler is moving more water due to less head with the same 007 pump so it will be rising less than the 7 degrees that the OWB is giving up.
another factor is heat exchanging between the fluids will be less the closer the two fluids are in temp
more gpm from the OWB would help ( I think) but I don't know to what extent
a larger reserve for the boiler to draw from would hold more btu for the next burn and it could draw more btu from the OWB for storage
unless (like it has been said) that your indoor boiler water is moving way to slow due to restrictions, I think your boiler may have a very small reserve?
if you are losing 7 degrees and we guessed your 007 is moving 6 gpm that would be about 25000 btu per hour (if you have the storage to accept it) if you need more and your system is working as it should you will need to increase the gpm from the OWB in order to (hopefully) push more btu into the indoor boiler water
-
The outlet of the OWB side of the Plate can't be lower than the outlet of the indoor side of the plate. That is why I suggested the larger pump.
Do you still have the 40 plate? If so, put it back where it was and move the 100 plate in series with the return line into the indoor boiler. I think you will get enough heat. Just plumb the outdoor side in series with the 100 plate first.
I think what is happening is that a large portion of the water is just circulating through the indoor boiler and you are only heating maybe half of what gets sent to the zones.
-
The outlet of the OWB side of the Plate can't be lower than the outlet of the indoor side of the plate. That is why I suggested the larger pump.
To clarify for the rest of the members, why is that exactly in not too overly technical terms?
-
I'll put money on it that Honda nailed it, the relief valve and drain fittings are going to be 3/4 inch black iron, very easy way to install EXCEPT if you need to move a lot of water, 4-5 gallons of flow per minute through those fittings would be awesome and that's not enough to heat your home, Please post a picture of your near boiler plumbing so we can have a look and discuss the best place to tag the boiler plumbing would be and why.
-
I think your right slim I will check and get back to you!
-
It wasn't me that picked up on it, the credit for this one goes to Honda!
I see a lot of boilers tagged in this very way, they are typically installed the cheapest and easiest way possible, they work OK in the warmer climates or with small loads but when the demand is there they fall on their face, this type of hookup is what you get when the dealer tells you it can be installed for $1000 in order to sell the boiler, it works, just not real good!
-
I can't take all the credit here, I picked up that little nugget from Slimjim when he and I talked about how to tie my system together. Someone had suggested that using those ports was an easy way to hook the system up but Slimjim steered me away from that because of what he mentioned. Possibly an assist and a goal scored here. Let us know fireboss.
-
Sorry guys no goal! Lol my bad info! I have a tee befor the boiler drain so 1in going in the bottom and out the top of the oil burner 1 1\4 t back to the exchanger, and a 007 running constantly. And more temp info. Leaveing the wood boiler this morning at 187 and then into plate exchanger at same temp 187 and back into wood boiler at 180, and inside oil burner at 170 with 2 out of 3 zones running and out side temp 31. I took pics this am but not sure how to put up on here so I will take it to work with me and ask our geek to help me post them! And thanks again for all help
-
We have got to see a picture, 1 inch black iron is still to small but I would be very surprised if it's 1 inch as typically boiler drain ports on oil boilers are 3/4
-
Sorry slim we made a loop , took 1" copper out of bootom of plate exchanger then into 007, then about 12", then a check valve, then another 8", then a tee into the bottom of the boiler, and the boiler drain come out the tee. Then it come our the top of oil burner( not the relief valve) tee off back into plate exchanger! Sorry for no pics the geek lol didn't come to work today ! Monday blues lol! Is there an easy way to put pics up? Iam pretty clueless with these computers!
-
Sorry for no pics the geek lol didn't come to work today ! Monday blues lol! Is there an easy way to put pics up? I am pretty clueless with these computers!
Not sure how computer savvy you are or aren't but there is a picture posting "How To" in the Testing forum at the bottom of the OWFI.com home page.
LINK: A "How To" for Posting Pictures (Click Here) (http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=6681.msg54370#msg54370)
-
Your problem is on the oil boiler side, not the owb side. I am now thinking that when you have 3 zones calling for heat at the same time when it is cold out that your little 007 can't keep up with 3 returning zones all returning cold water and then trying to send out to those 3 zones again 180 water. Your oil boiler is to small to act as a buffer tank with that small pump. You need to be able to meet the demands of the 3 zones returning cold water to the flat plate. 1 007 trying to keep up with 3 007s all returning cold water doesn't work. I would get a pump that will be able to keep up with all three 007s. I might also think about running that pump only when one or more zones is calling for heat, no real need other wise since the boiler isn't big enough to buffer.
-
The outlet of the OWB side of the Plate can't be lower than the outlet of the indoor side of the plate. That is why I suggested the larger pump.
To clarify for the rest of the members, why is that exactly in not too overly technical terms?
I should have said won't instead of can't. If flow was in the same direction it wouldn't be possible but with crossflow it could only if the flow is way higher on one side than the other.
-
I got the pics to go to my E-mail! does anyone want to give me there's? So I can send them to you and you post them!
-
Check you email, reply to my email and I will upload them.
-
I would like to have a picture, Please send it to my E Mail listed on my profile.
-
I didn't find your email slim, but I sent the pic to hondaracer this am he said he would post! I will send my email to you in a pm!
-
Frank sent me a couple others but I didn't have time to upload them too. These are the two best ones.
-
OK Frank I got them as well, I cant see where you tied into the relief valve but the boiler drain tee you used sure does look like it's 3/4 inch to me, it appears to me that your main supply manifold is 1 inch and reduced to 3/4 on your last heat zone, you have some major flow issues in the near boiler plumbing and if you were my customer, I would suggest ripping it all out and rebuilding it on a wall with a minimum of
1 1/4 inch main loops, the main loop is where the injection from the heat exchanger should be, doing this would ensure proper flow, neaten up the near boiler plumbing and make the system much more serviceable. I'll try to post a picture of my last manifold job to show the difference.
-
Thanks slim,quick little notes iam on my way out the door to work I didn't tie in to relief valve my mistake! And the drain valve is something \ 1" \3/4" I will get exact tonight ! My biggest concern is that when both boilers are at idol on a warm day my 6048 is 195 my inside burner is @170 max. Plug the oil burner in and it goes up to 180 and even the coldest nights the oil burner keeps up. No problem! Maybe iam looking at nothing ,but it don't make sense to me! I switch from a 40 plate to a 100. And didn't gain a degree!
-
Does the temp on the oil boiler come up and stabilize when there is no call for heat and the wood boiler is being used?
-
No ! I70. And I have the 007 running 24/7 loop into plate and oil burner !
-
Is there a possibility that the temp gauge is not accurate? it should be matching the incoming wood boiler water temp with no heat load on it eventually at least.
-
When I switch to oil, the oil burner comes on and shuts off at 180 as what the squat is set to!
-
When eveything is at idol the wood boiler is at 195 and the oil burner is is at 170 all zone valves closed on a warm day I can plug the oil burner in and it fires up and run to 180 and shut off ! That's what I can't figure out!
-
When eveything is at idol the wood boiler is at 195 and the oil burner is is at 170 all zone valves closed on a warm day I can plug the oil burner in and it fires up and run to 180 and shut off ! That's what I can't figure out!
seems to me this sounds like when everything is at idle there is no water circulation into the boiler reserve or the temp gauge on the boiler would rise (unless it is in a line and not in the reserve tank? could there be a check valve in your boiler piping preventing you from pushing any water into the tank unless one of your zones is open and water can get in then?
at idle after a bit of time your boiler reserve tank and your OWB should be very close to the same temp
I would be looking at every inch of your piping and make sure it is going to and coming from your reserve tank unrestricted by any valve or check valve and make sure your temp gauge is in that tank
-
Any chance that the 007 flowing through the flat plate on the oil boiler side has failed and isn't actually pumping any water? I would take it out of the loop and run it to ensure that the pump is actually running and the impeller is actually moving water.
-
No its running , I have ball valves on each side of pump and I can close halfway and you can here the water flowing and its moveing fast! I was wondering that maybe it's not supposed to transfer that high of a temp, but it hasn't bin cold enough yet to see what it does! Maybe it won't drop when its close to zero out maybe it will sustain that big load and hold at 170! What do you guys think of that!
-
In your pics, it looks like the pipe at the tee goes over the the pump on the left side of the boiler. I can really see anything else but am guessing after the pump it goes straight the the plate hx. Is that correct? Are there any other tees on the pipe? Does the pipe on the other port of the plate hx go straight to the relief port with no tees except the one for the relief?
Which way is it water flowing?
-
The pipe and the flow goes from the exchanger down to the pump, down about a foot then into a check valve , then into a tee into the bottom of the boiler, then out the top of boiler( not the relief) then back into exchanger! Then the wood boiler side flowing in the opposite direction!
-
So I have looked at your pictures for a while, I can't see any reason for you not to be able to raise the boiler temp to within 1 degree of the owb if there is no load on the system. I know that you said the boiler comes up to 180 on the gauge when the oil kicks on but I would like to find out if that gauge is accurate or not, it could be faulty and the aquastat on the boiler could also be over shooting the temp that it is set to on the dial. Do you have an infared gun to grab some temps? I really want to find out what the temps are before and after the flat plate on the oil boiler side. That would help us out. I believe that the reason you can't keep up still stems from the fact that you are trying to feed 4 zones (when it is cold out) with a 1" copper line from the bottom of the pump back to the oil boiler. I believe that is your underlying problem in not keeping up when it is cold.
-
Well again my bad info! It hasn't as everyone knows bin that cold at all its gonna be 70 here tomorrow! I might be jumping the gun here ! But when I put the hundred plate on and that gauge didn't go up to 180 like I expected I was like one of those symbols you guys put on here, banging my head against the wall lol! But on the other hand I haven't seen it less then 170 but all the zones wasn't calling for heat either maybe we won't find out this year! It will be a few days befor I can get those temp readings my brother has my inferred! again thanks for all your help!
-
Well when it does get cold and all the zones are calling because they need heat and they aren't getting it isnt the time that you want to try to figure this out. You can easily replicate cold temps by turning all three thermostats up so that they are all calling for heat at the same time. Then you can see what happens to the temp gauge. Remember to wrap the pipes with black electrical tape at the locations where you plan to use the infared gun to take the temps. Also place the gun sensor right up to the tape so that you don't get the gun reading other things as well as the pipe. Also try taking a temp reading off of a 'known' temperature pipe so that you can compare readings.
-
That's true I will post the temps when I get them! Merry Christmas to to everyone , and thanks to the big boys on here! with out them we would be in big trouble lol!